Inbox/Outbox: November 13, 2015

Howdy, readerly types! As I am prone to do when I sit in the drivers seat for the Inbox/Outbox post, I am declaring guest contributor privilege, and I’m extending my peek at my reading piles back a few weeks. I feel like October is the most bookish of all the months, so it deserves some attention whilst I have the reins.

Inbox

So, the last few weeks have kinda been a big deal in terms of book acquisitions. Not gonna lie. I have some impressive stuff.

As a pre-Halloween treat to myself, I bought a copy of Audrey Niffenegger’s Ghostlycollection of – you guessed it – ghost stories. I checked out the table of contents, thinking I would be seeing some new stuff, but it’s a collection of her favorites, some that have been around a while. And that’s okay with me.

On Halloween, I had the privilege of attending an event at Rice University with the Nobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa. He signed my copy of his latest, A Discreet Hero.

Outbox

I have been on a podcast binge, so I haven’t done as much reading in recent weeks as I would like, but I did finish a few audiobooks. A Vision of Fire by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin is really good. It takes a very different approach to the supernatural thriller than what I have ever read. And I like the fact that the protagonist is a child psychologist, instead of a police officer or FBI agent. It definitely has an X-Files vibe – not truly out there, but in the neighborhood. Anderson gets an A+ for narration. I’ve never really heard her do accents, so I had no idea that she could do so many so well. The best part? Book 2 is coming in just a few weeks!

I’m also just about finished with The Library at Mount Char which is nothing like I expected, even after everyone told me it would be nothing like I expected and I tried to expect nothing. It’s crazy and gruesome and kinda sweet sometimes. It’s a delightfully trippy read.

Pending

Next up, I’m listening to Daniel Jose Older read his novel, Half-Resurrection Blues. I’ve also got Welcome to Night Vale in my audible queue (after listening to the podcast, there was no way I wasn’t listening to the audiobook). I’m not feeling very print-oriented these days. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Did I mention that Mario Vargas Llosa totally photobombed my friend Liana and I, while sitting in a chair across the room?